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Mr. Tom Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
Use of "little" in order to sound modest
Hi
Can we use the words "little" or "small" in order to sound modest?
Is this dialogue totally natural to native ears?
[A has come to B's house for the first time.]
A- What are you holding?
B- I brought something very little for you.
A- Oh-- you shouldn't have.
B- It's nothing.
Thanks,
Tom
Can we use the words "little" or "small" in order to sound modest?
Is this dialogue totally natural to native ears?
[A has come to B's house for the first time.]
A- What are you holding?
B- I brought something very little for you.
A- Oh-- you shouldn't have.
B- It's nothing.
Thanks,
Tom
Top answer
Mr. B- It's nothing. Not idiomatic.
- Mr.
- B- It's nothing.
- Not idiomatic.
- You want this: A- What have you got there?
- B- I brought a little something for you.
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1 Answers
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Mr. TomA- What are you holding?B- I brought something very little for you.A- Oh-- you shouldn't have.B- It's nothing.Not idiomatic. You want this:
A- What have you got there?
B- I brought a little something for you.
A- Oh-- you shouldn't have.
B- But I wanted to.
CJ
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